I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Don't underestimate humans. Just because we can't do it doesn't mean others can't." The president of the Virtual Research Club looked at his expression, which seemed to have suddenly matured, and his eyes behind his glasses revealed a rare gentleness. He comforted him with this thought, "There are no physical limitations in the game, and it's easier to move around than in reality. Moves like a five-flip backflip with one hand can be done with some practice."

"Even if they are as strong as monsters in the game, they are just ordinary humans like us when they come out."

"President..." A member trembled slightly and slowly turned his head, his eyes filled with sincere emotion.

The president of the Virtual Research Society also stared back silently, a subtle smile curving his lips.

The two ignored Yukino Yukinoshita beside them and gazed at each other with deep affection.

Then, a member spoke quietly:

"But even if you say that, the company president in real life still can't beat them, right?"

"..."

The president of the Virtual Research Society stood silently for a long time before suddenly pushing up his glasses.

"Hey, after the cultural festival, stay in the club office and don't run off. I have some things I want to discuss with you."

"Huh? Can I refuse?"

"Let's go to the restroom and chat now."

"..."

To be honest, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't really want to interfere in the atmosphere between the two of them.

However, after checking the time, she couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, when will they be finished?"

The president of the virtual research club was stunned for a moment before realizing that she was talking to him.

"The latest it will be when the duel ends, which is about three minutes later... If no one's health bar is empty by then, the one with the lowest health will lose."

"Is that so..." Yukino Yukinoshita frowned slightly, her gaze returning to the battle on the screen.

Although her boyfriend seemed to be passively taking a beating, Yukino, who knew him well, knew that he just hadn't completely gotten serious yet and was probably still testing the other person's strength.

His characteristic caution is very much in line with his style, but the problem is that it takes too long...

"Honestly, he hasn't forgotten that there are still several people waiting for him outside, has he?"

With her arms crossed over her chest, Yukino Yukinoshita sighed helplessly.

She was at her wits' end with her boyfriend's playful nature. She always hoped he would be more serious, but she couldn't win an argument with him verbally... If she really wanted him to listen to her, she figured she would have to pay a price.

Involuntarily, various scenes related to "cost" flashed through my mind, many of them censored.

Yukino tried her best to maintain a calm expression, ignoring her increasingly flushed face, and temporarily banished those images to the corner of her mind.

'After all, that kind of future was bound to come sooner or later…'

Taking a deep breath to calm her racing heart, Yukino Yukinoshita refocused her attention on the screen, forcing herself to continue watching with a furrowed brow.

She had absolutely no interest in fighting and killing. Although her boyfriend looked very handsome wielding a sword, firstly, it wasn't his real image, and secondly, the bearded man opposite him was, to put it bluntly, too ugly to look at. Even if the way he wielded the rapier had an artistic beauty, it also brought a strong visual impact of the clash between savagery and delicacy, which was really unbearable to watch.

Although Yukino Yukinoshita knew in her heart that it was because the person in the story didn't match the appearance at all, and was actually a beautiful girl.

According to the inexplicable senior student's identification, the guy currently controlling the bearded man and fighting his boyfriend with swords is Yuuki Asuna, a student from the Black Lily Girls' Academy they met in Kyoto, who also won the national championship.

Yukino Yukinoshita was only a little curious about why she came to Soubu High School and why she was playing games there; she didn't care even if she didn't know the reason.

What she couldn't understand was—it was fine to want to compete with opponents of the same level, but why did Yuuki-san have to choose such an overly rugged image?

Could it really be some kind of strange hobby...?

"Look!"

Suddenly, someone screamed, pulling Yukino Yukinoshita back from her wandering thoughts.

Looking closely, I saw Tenkuji Yu being stabbed several times by a rapier, but in the next moment he turned around and kicked the opponent away.

Subconsciously, Yukino Yukinoshita replaced the two imaginary figures with the real appearances of those two people—

Yuuki stabbed Tenkuji in the chest with her sword, and Tenkuji retaliated by kicking her hard in the stomach, looking like she was in a lot of pain...

Well, how should I put it...

Thankfully, it's just a game.

She pursed her lips with a complicated expression, while behind her, there were still nosy spectators providing commentary.

"Oh no, although Tenkuji reacted in time, her health bar has been greatly reduced... and there's only one minute left!"

"What are you afraid of! He just hasn't gotten serious yet. With Tenkuji's strength, he could kill him even if he only had ten seconds left!"

"But look, Tenkuji-kun doesn't seem to be taking this seriously at all. He even put down his sword and sat down on the ground to chat with the other person..."

"Really... What is Tenkuji-kun doing? That guy is already walking towards us with his sword..."

"I'm quite curious about their chat content. Do those two actually know each other? Why is it that only the characters' voices aren't being played? It's such a pity..."

Like some viewers, Yukino Yukinoshita is also very concerned about what her boyfriend is saying to Asuna Yuuki right now.

She wasn't very good at lip reading, so she could only judge from his eyes and expressions—

This guy must have already recognized Asuna Yuuki's identity and was making fun of her character's appearance, which is why the other person's expression was getting increasingly unpleasant.

Having understood this, Yukino Yukinoshita gently pinched her chin, her lips curving upwards into a chillingly gentle smile.

"Very good... You're ignoring your girlfriend outside and getting quite absorbed in chatting with girls in the game, huh?"

Sure enough, after the cultural festival ends, we'll have to teach this frivolous guy a lesson with Yui.

"..."

Upon seeing her smile, the president of the Virtual Research Club immediately pulled a member away to a corner as if fleeing for their lives. After confirming that they had retreated to a distance where they would not be blamed, he casually wiped the sweat from his glasses.

'Tenkuji and Yukinoshita... They supposedly clarified the rumors about them being a couple, but judging from their current behavior, their relationship doesn't seem so simple...'

That gentle smile, like a wife catching her husband fawning over another woman, is something even the virtual research club president can guess with a grain of salt—it means that person is likely to face a bloodbath when they get back.

However, despite his thoughts, for the sake of his own and a certain member's personal safety, he decisively put on an act of knowing nothing. Under the cold gaze of Yukino Yukinoshita, he forced himself to forget the memory of the previous ten seconds, then looked up expressionlessly at the battle scene on the screen.

Upon seeing this, the president of the Virtual Research Society was stunned.

Chapter 166 A Fate Already Reversed (Part 3)

Just when he thought he had lost his will to fight, Tenkuji Yu stood up again, sword in hand, facing the bearded man whose true identity was Yuuki Asuna.

However, at this moment, the wielder of the rapier exuded a killing intent that was completely different from before, emanating from the depths of his heart.

It was as if what he held up to his side wasn't a prop from a game, but a real, sharp rapier meant to kill him.

—What happened? Was he teased too much and actually got angry?

The moment the thought crossed my mind, as if a shooting star had fallen to earth, a dazzling white light suddenly shone from the rapier and gradually covered the imaginary body's rugged form.

Seeing this, the crowd couldn't help but stir.

"Such a powerful light! I didn't know there was such a sword technique."

"Does this feel like a prelude to a transformation? Is he going to turn into a magical old man?"

While the president of the Virtual Research Club was still in surprise, he felt a member tug at his sleeve, and Yukino Yukinoshita, who was not far away, also cast a questioning gaze over.

Although he himself found it hard to believe, he immediately explained:

"I don't know what's going on, but in a world where only sword skills exist, there shouldn't be any skills like 'Flash Technique'... and you shouldn't be able to use any items in the arena either."

So, what exactly was that light?

Just as everyone watching this scene was filled with doubt, the light emanating from Asuna Yuuki grew stronger and stronger, until finally it was as if a flash of light had been launched, turning the screen into a blinding white, making it impossible to see or hear anything.

The audience quickly looked away, blocking their eyes from being nearly blinded by the light.

"It's so bright! What's going on?!"

"Is this a bug? This game can actually do something like this?!"

"How can we watch the game like this..."

And at that very moment, when the light suddenly shone and the discussion continued for less than five seconds.

Suddenly, with a series of snapping sounds like a power outage, the entire club building went dark, and all artificial light sources, along with the blinding white light, disappeared without a trace!

After a moment of silence, even more chaotic and surprised voices rose from all directions.

"The power's out!?"

"It seems so. Even the lights in the hallway outside are off... Could it be that the circuit breaker tripped due to excessive electricity usage?"

"Fortunately, it's afternoon now, so it won't be too dark."

Many people looked outside, and members of the Virtual Research Club quickly drew back the curtains.

As sunlight illuminated the room, the nascent panic began to dissipate, replaced by a slight sense of dissatisfaction.

The afternoon sky outside was still bright and clear. Even if all the lights in the club building were turned off, it would only reduce visibility a little. There was no need to worry about it.

After a brief moment of surprise, Yukino Yukinoshita quickly regained her composure and looked at the president of the Virtual Research Club with a stern and serious gaze.

The bespectacled man immediately got to work: "Chairman, there shouldn't be any emergency power supply in the normal clubroom. To restore power, we need to go to the power distribution room and turn the main power back on... Also, we have carefully checked the power consumption. Even if four helmets and two screens are used at the same time, it is impossible for excessive power consumption to cause the entire building to trip. This must be a power outage caused by other reasons."

Yukino Yukinoshita nodded: "Understood. We'll investigate the main cause later, for now..."

Before he could even instruct him to send someone to the power distribution room, the lights suddenly came on again.

The power outage came very suddenly, lasting only about ten seconds. Some people didn't even have time to react before the power was restored.

It was a minor accident that didn't even qualify as a false alarm.

However, Yukino Yukinoshita frowned, feeling as if something was amiss.

"The power was restored so quickly, is it because someone in the power distribution room is controlling it, or...?"

Before she could delve deeper into her thoughts, a slightly worried voice came from the adjacent experience area.

"Um, my friend is still playing a game. If the power suddenly goes out, he shouldn't be stuck in the game like that, right?"

The virtual reality research team member quickly replied, "No, no! Don't worry, everyone, the gaming helmet is absolutely safe, even in the event of a sudden disconnection..."

The explanation that followed was similar to what the president of the Virtual Research Club had told her. Seeing the bewildered look on the faces of the tourists in the experience area as they took off their helmets, Yukino Yukinoshita turned her gaze back to the curtain behind the arena area.

The screen above was completely black, and it seemed that the game screen would only light up when the game was restarted... This meant that Yuu and the others should have already left the game.

Slowly exhaling, suppressing the worry and unease rising in her heart, Yukino Yukinoshita walked over calmly.